GROCERY STORE WORKER:
I walked up to aisle seven at Albertson’s to a skinny old man at the check out counter with my bag of original flavored Jack Link’s beef jerky in my hand and nothing else. I asked him how is day was going and he replied with just a nod and half of a smile. $4.97 was the total he asked for. I gave him a twenty-dollar bill and as he counted the change, I asked him if he liked beef jerky. He told me that he absolutely loved it, and said “I grab a bag of that Jack Links every once and a while to eat in my pickup truck on my way out of here and back home. Surprised by his love for jerky similar to my own, I asked him more. He told me he had never really had a smaller brand or anything independently made, but he said he has been eating the Jack Link’s jerky off of the shelf for years. I asked him what his favorite flavor was. He told me “I don’t mess with the teriyaki or smoked this and that, I just love original plain old beef jerky.” I am the same way too, I don’t like to get fancy with flavors, I like my original jerky, just plain. After talking to the friendly old man I will be sure to stop by his aisle next time I am in Albertsons.
SHELL STATION ON CHAPMAN:
Walking away from the pump filling my gas tank at Shell, I headed for the doors of the gas station interior for a nice bag of jerky. I walked in, grabbed a small bag of Jack Link’s and walked up to the counter. The shady man behind the yellow countertop mumbled a number I couldn’t understand. Luckily there was a computer display that said $4.29. I handed him a five-dollar bill and as he gave me my change asked him the same thing I asked my new buddy at Albertsons. I asked if he liked beef jerky. Unfortunately I got a blank stare from the shady character at Shell, and after a very weird five seconds of staring at each other and myself awkwardly waiting for a response, I left. Hopefully next time the Shell worker gives me a little more response than a blank stare.
FLEA MARKET.
Strolling around the flea market in Santa Ana, you will see a lot of fascinating sights. From war veterans selling American bumper stickers and coat patches to people selling homemade clothes, to people selling furniture, you will see it all at the flea market. The man behind “Now That’s Killer Jerky” was surely no exception to one of the characters at the flea market. Right away I noticed how packed his booth was at the flea market compared to the surrounding booths. He had dozens of people lined up and sampling his jerky, and everyone seemed to have left with at least one bag. I finally made my way up to the front of the line, and proceeded to waste no time, as I wanted to get good information from the guy before I was pushed out of the way by other jerky eaters. Still to this day after being to the booth two or three times, I don’t even have the guys name, but I do have a good glimpse into his story of his family business and his love for the jerky he makes. Mr. Killer Jerky was open to my questions even though it was busy, and although I’ve never even seen the guy without sunglasses and a hat worn low on his face, I know that “(he) is confident in the product he is putting out at the flea market, and he only gets the cleanest safest beef, while keeping safety as a top priority when treating and seasoning the dried meat.” He definitely was confident and clear about his product, and you could tell he really cared about what his family was making and selling to his community. Out of curiosity, I asked him what his favorite flavor was, and he too said “nothin beats a good bag of original.” I have to agree, and I have to say his original jerky is some of the best I have had to this day.
Mr. Food Exploration 